I was actually impressed by the form of a devil; it reminded me of memories from Earth of watching something with someone. Mhm? Why can't I remember? It's there, but it's not. What's wrong with my memory?"
"Hey! What's going on in here—"
Victor Blackwood and the two guards from the front entrance suddenly appeared in the doorway of the storage room, weapons drawn. All three froze as they saw the devil at my feet and me standing over its mangled body.
Victor's shouts had distracted me from what I was trying to remember, as if it had never been there in the first place; I could no longer remember exactly what I was trying to remember. In a second, it had escaped my grasp because of a devil's insolence.
"It's you, Ard Ritter. No, you are not some wingless, the poison should have killed you long ago. Who are you!" shouted Victor.
Victor approached with his sword, tense for attack. I didn't look up, my focus still locked on the devil's corpse—and on a memory I knew I couldn't recover anymore.
Locking gazes with Victor, I saw his eyes widen in recognition. His sword faltered for a moment. It was the perfect chance to cut him down, but I didn't take it. I just matched his stare.
"You're that Servant of Order, Evernight. The people of this city call you an anomaly."
"Victor! Watch out!"
Victor's shout jolted him back to alertness, just in time for him to dodge a blast of light I fired. His men rushed forward to guard his flanks, all three now pointing their blades at me, prepared to attack.
"You're an enemy. We'll kill you a thousand times over for what you've done!" shouted Victor.
"Silence, devils."
"Why do you disrupt our peace! We have done nothing but survive!" shouted one of Victor's subordinates.
"You're my mark, I'm just following orders. But I won't stop you if you try to leave. If you leave Kathoros, then I won't pursue you."
"What!? Going back to Faravos would just mean suffering and death, no different from his place. We thought that the Order Dominion wouldn't care if we kept our heads down."
"So the different races of Devils aren't equal, then, interesting. Although your lives have been filled with sorrow, I do admire your wishful thinking. What matters, you think Ickni would let you kill her people, inviting unrest into the minds of the people?"
"Do not demean me! This cruel world doesn't pull any punches, so we hid away from the light and dark, but in the end, we were found out."
The devil's words weren't directed at me; his eyes gazed towards a small hatch in the warehouse. It was partially cracked open, and I'd noticed it earlier; the stench of death filled the opening.
"Tell me everything and don't leave anything out," I ordered.
I raised my hands and aimed at the other silent devil, who stood glaring at me. I unleashed a barrage of light bullets, piercing holes through his body. He doubled over in pain before collapsing, his weapon clattering loudly as it hit the floor.
"Don't listen to him, boy! He's just going to kill you anyway, even if you spilled our secrets, don't aid the enemy, that'd just make everything worse!" barked Victor, shielding the boy devil with his own body.
My anger flickered and broke, guilt flooding my heart. I couldn't kill them. Watching Victor leap to shield the boy—his eyes determined, yet shadowed by fear—stirred a distant, unplaceable memory.
Even if memories eluded me, the feelings remained.
"Go. I won't kill you or ask any more questions even if you attack me I won't kill you. But I wouldn't recommend it; just run away and live in some rural area. And don't stay in the Order Dominion any longer, or someone worse will come for your heads."
I turned away from the two, blasted a hole in the hatch, and headed down into the darkness, sending multiple wisps of light to illuminate it.
I turned my head back towards the two of them, their faces conflicted for a brief moment before Victor grasped the younger devil's hand tightly. His worried face gave way to genuine gratitude.
"Thank you."
They soon disappeared into the streets of Grandheart, my eyes losing any trace of their existence as if they never existed in the first place.